I hope you do too
by Special Fangirl
Summary: Cameron and Chase were always meant for each other. But what were they like as teenagers? Teen angst, drama included. Cuddy has a major role as Cameron's mentor/teacher. The story is way better than the summary. Please try!
1. Chapter 1

Dr Cuddy's office looked just as organized as it usually did. It had a woody feel to it-the sign of a typical winter office. However, it didn't look as inviting to me that day. I had to get my papers signed. That wasn't new, but the kind of result I had that day definitely was. She was used to signing papers with a result close to a 100. She knew me as a perfect student with straight A's and a merit card with my report. I'd seen her angry only twice before, both times with Dr House. That was scary. But he doesn't back down no matter what anyone else thinks. That didn't matter much because he was always right. I wondered how she would have reacted had he apologized to her when he'd made her mad. But that was a pointless thought-he wouldn't have apologized. He never did.

I couldn't evade it forever. I knocked.

She looked up, and beckoned for me to come in. I did, hoping that she would sign the papers without looking through them as she sometimes did. That wasn't the case. She smiled warmly when she saw that I had aced my Physics paper. I had done Biology fairly well too. I loved her smile. It was so beautiful, and I hated that it was going to disappear when she saw the next paper. It did. She stared down at my math paper, shocked at the 24 that stared back at her. I looked down, waiting for her anger. It didn't come. When I looked back up, she was looking at me, disappointment etched on her face. That was a thousand times worse, for it was not the anger of a boss or teacher. It was the silent reprimand of a mother.

"What happened, Allison?", she asked, her expressive eyes making me feel guiltier than her question did.

"I didn't prepare properly", I mumbled, unable to look at her eyes. She didn't usually call me Allison. It was always 'Cameron'. 'She must be angry', I guessed.

"That doesn't sound like you", she said, her blue-gray eyes showing more concern than I expected. "And I thought you liked math?", she said, her statement more of a question.

"I did. I still do. It's just…", I let my voice trail. "I'm sorry. I'll do better the next time", I managed.

She looked into my eyes one more time before signing my papers. "I know", she said, her eyes suddenly somewhat stern. "Meanwhile, you'll be filling your afternoons with math". I nodded, relieved that she had remained calm. I hated letting her down. I promised myself that I would do better the next time even if it meant staying up all night.

I let myself out of her office, shutting the door softly. I made my way to the lab, where Dr Wilson was testing something. I walked into the familiar lab, and greeted Dr Wilson before joining him at the end of the table to set up the apparatus for the next test.

Although I had been in Princeton for three months, I met Dr Wilson only a month ago. In that short span of time, we became close. He patiently put up with all my questions and taught me more about medicine than I had learnt the previous two years while preparing to get here.

I was one of the lucky fifteen year olds who got selected to study medicine at the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH). There were only a handful who got selected, and they were distributed across teaching hospitals in New Jersey. I continued with regular schooling side by side, with the highly qualified doctors of the hospital helping me.

As Dr Wilson worked, I noticed how tired he truly looked. I knew that Dr House and his team worked days on end for certain cases, but I never expected their jobs to be that tiring. I knew that being a doctor was a demanding job, but being a doctor under Gregory House was a much more demanding job.

At that moment he walked in, cane in one hand and a bagel in another. His right leg was crippled and he hobbled around on his left with a cane. "Test him for Erdeham Chester", he said, apparently not registering the shock on Dr Wilson's face. "It's obviously not…", Wilson begin but House cut him off. "Test him anyways".

I slipped out of the room quietly, not wanting to witness their argument. Besides, it was nearly 4, which meant that my practical lab time was over. I walked into the office room adjoining Dr Cuddy's room. It was not as large as her office, but still spacious enough. I could see her from there and she could see me. It felt right that way. Being a teenager selected to study medicine was an honour but a lonely affair. Watching her work made me feel as though I was still a part of the world, and not a puzzle piece that didn't fit.

I opened my schedule for the week, which Dr Cuddy had filled in her neat handwriting. It was time for chemistry. I looked down at my work, and quite soon got completely absorbed in it. I got so absorbed in it that two hours later, I didn't even notice my phone buzz. When it vibrated a second time, I picked it up. I had two messages, both from Dr Wilson.

'Hey. Lecture about new cancer radiation techniques in diagnostic room 2. Cuddy wants you to attend'

'It starts in 10 minutes'

I looked up, wondering why Dr Cuddy hadn't told me herself, only to find her office empty.

'I'll be there ', I responded, wondering who was going to be delivering the lecture and why I needed to be a part of it. Twenty minutes and a welcome speech later, the lecture began. I tried to pay attention, but my mind began to wander as the middle aged man on stage droned on about radiation therapies. I focused on the audience. All of them seemed to be undergrad students at least 20 years of age. They only exception was a light haired boy at the other end of the room. He seemed to be around my age and looked at least as bored as I felt. I wondered whether I looked that bored and immediately straightened my expression. 'I wouldn't have been asked to attend the lecture without a reason', I chided myself. 'Perhaps I would be asked to write a report on it'. I pulled myself together and concentrated on the rest of his speech. He spoke about the need to increase access of cancer medication not just in America but all over the world. He ended his speech at 7:40 by which time all I could think about was dinner. Since dinner lasted half an hour, from 7:30-8:00, I had only 20 minutes to grab a bite at the cafeteria before I had to get back to work.

As people filed out of the two doors, I noticed the light haired boy again. He seemed to be making his way towards me. "Hi. I'm Dan, he introduced". "I'm Allison", I said, hoping he'd go to the cafeteria with me. "Please tell me you're fifteen too", he said, his dark eyes flicking to the notebook I carried. "Yeah, I am", I said grinning. "Did you come here three months ago too?"

"Yup. But I bet I know more than you", he said confidently.

I liked him instantly.

"C'mon, let's go grab a bite", I said, and we walked downstairs together. The cafeteria was not as crowded as usual, and we had our dinner trays much earlier than I expected. I headed towards a table, but Dan stopped me. "Do you really want to eat here? It's so boring".  
"Okay, let's go to the nearest McDonald's", I joked.  
"Let's not eat here", he insisted. "Let's go up to the terrace".  
"You've been to the terrace?" I asked, my eyes widening.  
He chuckled. "No, I meant we should explore".  
"All right, Columbus", I mocked him. "Where do you want to go?"

The glint in his eyes reminded me of that of a child's, sparkling with a kind of youth and innocence one rarely sees, and I got quite lost in them. I was, therefore, utterly shocked when he pulled me into Dr Wilson's office.

"What are you doing?", I asked, pulling back.  
"My dad won't mind", he replied casually.  
"Wilson is your dad?", I asked, stunned.  
"Yup", he said noncommittally, and sat down in one of the green leather chairs as though he had been doing that his whole life. He probably had, considering that the head of oncology was his father, but I couldn't digest that information. He looked nothing like Dr Wilson-he had brown eyes but the similarities ended there. He had hair the color of lemons and a pale and slightly freckled face.  
"But you said that you came here three months ago too", I said, the thought occurring to me all of a sudden.  
"Yeah, I did. Just because my dad is a doctor doesn't mean I get a free ticket to become one", he said, looking mock offended.  
"Wow", I said, as I processed this information.  
"Don't you think we're overworking?", he asked, as he pulled the notebook out of my hand. "  
What's this, anyways?"  
"Notes", I replied, and giggled as he examined the extent of my note taking. There were a few doodles on the corner of the page, and the word 'boring' written in capital letters, but the notebook was otherwise empty.  
"I thought you were a nerd, but this says otherwise", he said, finishing the last of his hamburger.  
"You're underestimating me", I said, narrowing my eyes.  
I looked down at my nearly untouched food, and decided that I wasn't hungry anymore. I had been, but it was nearly time to get back to my room, and I was too excited by the prospect of having a friend. We exchanged phone numbers, and as I made my way back to my room, I couldn't help but wish that I could study with Dan. 'Maybe I could ask Dr Cuddy', I thought. But that didn't seem fair, even to me. She'd let me off easily for my mishap earlier that day, after all. I walked into my study space only to find Dr Cuddy already waiting there. I was late, quite predictably, for I had had quite adventure with Dan considering my regular schedule. She asked me how the lecture went, and I told her that I had found it interesting, but she seemed to see through that.

She was filling in my schedule for the next week. I leaned forward a bit to see better, and noticed a group study session for the next day.  
"What's that?", I asked, wondering if it was going to be another lecture.  
"You'll meet the other students and have a regular class like school", she said.  
"How many students in total?", I asked, wondering whether Dan would be there.  
"Only six", she replied, and smiled at me.  
"I haven't seen even one of them, I said, amazed. "Weren't they present at the lecture today?"  
"They were", she replied, and stood up.  
"You haven't filled in anything for the rest of the day. So… am I free?", I asked hesitantly.  
"Yes. It's been a long week and I figured you could use a break"  
"Thanks", I said, smiling.  
She nodded slightly and left the room.

I decided to work on a fanfiction I had been writing.

The next morning, I looked into the mirror one last time before leaving. I had taken time to pick my clothes, for I knew I would be meeting other students, and I hoped that jeans and a light leather jacket were casual enough. For the umpteenth time, I wondered what the other students were like. I knew that I would find out soon enough, as I walked down the hospital's hallways, to the large auditorium. When I first walked into the auditorium, I thought I was alone, but when my eyes got accustomed to the bright light, I noticed another girl.  
"Hi. I'm Allison", I introduced.  
"I'm Katherine Mary Winslet", the girl said, sounding rather nervous. She was repeatedly curling a strand of her already curly brown hair.

At that moment three others students walked in-two boys and a girl. They were laughing together as though they had known each other all their lives. The girl was remarkably pretty. She was an Asian, with black hair and dark eyes set in a perfectly chiselled face. One of the boys was African-American, and the other was blonde with blue-green eyes almost the same color as mine.  
"Told you that you needn't have gone that early", the African-American said looking at Katherine.  
"I like being early", she replied defensively.  
I wondered again how they all knew each other.  
The African-American sniggered. "Yeah, right", he said sarcastically. "Who's your friend?  
"I'm Allison", I said seizing the opportunity to get to know them. "And you are?"  
"Eric", he said, looking at me curiously.  
"I'm Robert", said the blonde haired boy.  
"And I'm Emily", said the Asian.  
"How is it that you guys know each other?" I asked.  
"We were all assigned to House", said Robert.  
"But you know what House is like-he told Cuddy that he couldn't take care of more than four _kids_ ", said Emily, exaggeratedly stressing on the word 'kids'. "As if we to be _taken care of_ ".  
"So you and the other guy were assigned to other doctors", Robert finished.  
"The other guy? Dan?", I asked.

At that moment Dr House walked in, abruptly ending our conversation.

"All of you here?", he asked, reading names off a notepad.  
"Cameron"  
"Chase"  
"Foreman"  
"Ross"  
"Wilson"  
"Winslet"

'So Dan _was_ one of the six students', I thought, and wondered why he wasn't there.

Dr House didn't seem bothered by that fact.  
"I'm going to divide you into groups and give you a case to solve"  
"A real case?" asked Robert excitedly.  
"So real that you'll find unicorns in it", said House rolling his eyes.

Robert and I were in one group while Eric, Katherine and Emily were in another.  
House started writing symptoms on the whiteboard while we wrote down the possible causes.

Dan burst in all of a sudden. House didn't even turn from the board. "Next time, don't even bother to turn up", he said sarcastically. Dan didn't bother to reply. Instead, he joined our group. "What happened?" I asked him in a whisper. "It's called being _fashionably_ late", he said, the unsaid _duh_ hanging in the air. Robert gave him a strange look. I felt annoyed too. There I was, worrying about him while all he'd been doing was trying to look _cool_.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! This is my first fanfiction. Cameron may seem a little OOC in this chapter, but I figured that she'd be a little more daring as a teenager.**

 **Disclaimer: All characters other than Dan, Katherine and Emily belong to David Shore.**

Both groups came up with so many possible diagnoses, but House turned down each one. I couldn't believe the ones Robert and I came up with-they were quite creative! And yet House acted as though we were boring him to death.  
Around two hours later, House told us to take a break. "I'll be back in an hour", he said, and walked out.  
"An hour?" I repeated incredulously but he was already gone.  
"What do we do for an hour?" I asked nobody in particular.  
"Sounds like Cuddy doesn't give you a lot of free time", said Emily smirking.  
"Yeah, we'll take you to our hideout", said Eric speaking to me as though I was a child. I waited for him to finish.  
"We'll take Wilson's car and go to a nearby store"  
"He lets you use his car?"  
"He'll never find out. He never does. We've done it before".  
"You're going to steal a car?" I asked raising my voice.  
"Borrow", he corrected.  
"And you're all okay with this?" I asked, looking at Robert. He looked uncomfortable but didn't reply. I turned to Dan.  
"Guys? Wilson is my father", he reminded. Katherine gasped, but Dan continued. "And it's so awesome to prank him! Let's do this!"  
I looked at the rest of them, shocked. Emily shrugged, but Robert wouldn't look at me. "Are you going with them?" I demanded.  
It's not as bad as you think it is", he said, still not looking at me.  
"You should come with us. You'll have fun", said Katherine.  
"No way", I replied, my heart sinking at the prospect of being all alone again.  
"Maybe she's right", Robert said slowly. "Maybe we shouldn't do this.  
"What's with the sudden change of mind? Are you scared?" Eric sneered.  
"Of course not", said Robert sounding outraged.  
"Then drive out with Wilson's car alone. I dare you to do it".  
"I can't do that", Robert protested.  
"You're a chicken, then".  
"No, I'm not", Robert retorted.  
"I'll pick the lock if you like. And then you can drive it out. But if you don't, you're just scared of getting in trouble".  
I couldn't understand why Eric was being so mean. Surely Robert wasn't stupid enough to accept, I thought. Apparently I was wrong.  
'Alright then", Robert said, rolling up his sleeves. "I'm going to do it".

The parking lot was a lot more crowded than I thought it would be-the way they spoke of picking locks I thought it would be absolutely empty.

However, Eric picked the lock with absolute ease. The five of them leaned on the car as though they were just talking and when the time seemed right, Robert just opened the door and slipped into the car.  
The four of them walked back to the lobby, where I stood and watched. Robert put the key in, and engine roared to life.  
He drove slowly, probably wanting to seem inconspicuous. The car slipped by the gates unnoticed and pulled out of our sights.

Eric's phone vibrated and he pulled it out his jeans pocket. "It's him", he announced and showed us the text on the screen.

'I DID IT! I'M NOT SCARED'

For a second I wondered why Eric had saved Robert's number as 'Stars' but realized immediately that it was a group.  
"Give me your numbers", he said addressing Dan and me. "I'll add you to our group".  
I didn't have to respond for Dan willing and promptly gave him both our numbers. I wasn't sure I wanted to be a part of their group considering their activities, but I didn't comment.

We had to wait less than a minute before we saw Wilson's car again. He drove back faster, probably encouraged by his previous victory.

He parked perfectly, and got out confidently.

But it was too late. Dr Cuddy had seen him.

He looked mortified, and even though I barely knew him I felt sorry for him. She led him inside, probably into her office, I thought.  
The rest of us watched helplessly.

We went back to the auditorium silently, mourning the likely expulsion of a fellow student.  
When House came back, he noticed the severe mood of the group instantly. "Where's Chase?" he asked.  
None of us replied. "He's with Dr Cuddy", I said finally.  
House rolled his eyes.  
"Finally got caught borrowing Wilson's car, huh?"  
Everyone stared at him, horrified that he knew.  
"I've seen you borrow his car six times now", he said when he saw our stunned faces. "Five teenagers in an adult parking lot is about as unostentatious as an elephant", he said, continuing to write.  
"Could you do something?" Emily asked, looking guilty.  
House turned but didn't reply. "Please?" she requested beseechingly.  
"She won't expel him", he said, sounding quite sure.  
"How do you know?' Eric asked, finally looking ashamed.  
"She likes the power", he said simply, and went back to talking about possible diagnoses.

When the session was over, I walked back to my room as fast as I could. I saw that Dr Cuddy _was_ in her office. I knocked. She looked up and nodded, and I entered.

"It wasn't his fault", I said as soon as I entered. "The others were forcing him. Please don't expel him". I wasn't sure why I cared so much. I'd met him only a few hours ago, after all. But it was too unfair. She raised her eyebrows at me, but I continued, undeterred. "It's not fair to expel him. Someone dared him to do it".

"Cameron, calm down. I didn't expel him", she said, and I stopped ranting.

"Oh. Okay then", I said. I was so sure that she would expel him and now I had no idea what to say. "I'll get back to work", I said awkwardly and left.

The rest of the day passed quite uneventfully, and I found myself looking forward to the next group study session even though the experience I had there wasn't particularly pleasant.

Robert was there, looking more subdued than I'd ever seen him. He remained quiet throughout, which I honestly found annoying. How was I supposed to solve the case alone? House had divided us into three groups, and ours was falling behind.  
However, the session didn't last long. In less than an hour, Cuddy walked into the room.  
"Your patient had cardiac arrest. I'll take over here", she said, addressing House.

House got up looking relieved, and left the room.  
Cuddy looked at the symptoms on the white board.  
'Seizures'  
'Insomnia'  
'Muscle soreness'  
'Temperature sensitivity'  
'Cardiac arrest'  
'Amnesia'  
The possibilities were endless, she thought, inwardly sighing.

"It's Fibromyalgia", said Robert suddenly. It was the first time he'd spoken since the group study began, and I was relieved even though I had no idea what 'Fibromyalgia' was.

"We ruled out everything else. It also explains his performance".

Cuddy looked at him questioningly.

"House said that the patient's academic performance was slipping. We thought that he was joking, but if he had Fibromyalgia he'd have cognitive difficulties. It could even cause severe heart palpitations leading to cardiac arrest", Robert finished. We were all staring at him by then.

"It could be", she said thoughtfully. "That's actually a really good diagnosis".

"But the possibilities for these symptoms are innumerable", said Emily sounding jealous.

"And we ruled them out. This makes sense", he said looking at Cuddy hopefully.

Cuddy walked over to the other side of the white board, where she knew House would have written the answer. The word 'Fibromyalgia' stared back at her. "It's correct", she confirmed. "Good job". Robert looked elated, and not without reason, for that was the first time any of us had figured out the cause of any set of crazy symptoms House had set us.

By the next day, Robert was back to his usual self, and led us all to the last rows of chairs in diagnostic room 2, where a lecture was due. It wasn't as boring as the previous time now that I had company. It wasn't that the lecture was interesting but that Eric and Emily were arguing. They fought in whispers, and I couldn't really hear them, but their conversation looked incredibly heated.

Robert, Dan, Katherine and I had tried to calm them down, but they wouldn't listen. They wouldn't even tell us what they were disagreeing over. So we watched them in silence.

Around halfway through the lecture, Eric suddenly stood up and walked out. It was astonishingly rude, and the woman on stage tried to continue the lecture as though nothing had happened.

But that wasn't the worst of it. We were in the last row and quite close to the exit, and we could see as Eric stormed out of the door and bumped right into Cuddy.

I sighed. It was unsettling how Dr Cuddy managed to appear whenever something untoward happened.

We watched as Eric stuttered a little about what he was doing. They exchanged a few words, and then he followed her out of sight.

"How could he be so stupid?" Katherine murmured agitatedly. For once, I agreed with her.

That evening, Dan accompanied me to the cafeteria again. "Let's actually go the terrace today", he suggested, and I complied without protest. After all the adventure of the past week, all I wanted was some peace and quiet, and going to the roof terrace seemed like the perfect plan.

I was surprised at how easy it was to get there. No one stopped us.

We sat on the old bench in the corner and ate in silence. There wasn't much to say, and we both were tired.

"Let's go back down", he said after we both had finished.

"I want to stay a little longer", I told him. "I won't mind if you go". "Okay" he said, and left.

I breathed in the cold air slowly, and glanced up at the star specked sky, silently savouring the solitude.

Eric and Robert burst in, and I rolled my eyes. 'So much for the privacy', I thought.

"What did you expect me to tell her?" Robert asked sounding frustrated.  
"I dunno but I didn't expect you to sneak!" Eric snapped back.

Eric saw me looking and stopped glaring. "Hey", he greeted gently. I looked at him, surprised. I could have used a fair few adjectives to describe him, and gentle wasn't one of them. What was wrong?

"Robert wanted to ask you something". I looked uncertainly at Robert, who came and sat next to me.

"Do you remember when Eric walked into Cuddy this morning?" he asked. I nodded, and waited for him to continue." She got annoyed and told him that she'd phone his parents about it".

"That sounds severe", I said, still in the dark about why they were telling me that.

"Not about _it_ , about what you told her about the car prank", Eric yelled at Robert.

"Oh", I said, still confused.

"I already apologized. There was nothing I could do", said Robert frowning at Eric.  
"Anyways", he said, turning back to me, "When Cuddy asked him his mother's number, he gave her yours".

"What!?" I asked, understanding all of a sudden.

"She said she'd call at around 'eight'", said Eric slowly. "So she'll call soon, and all you'll have to do is pretend to be my mom, and I'll be in the clear".

I couldn't _believe_ what they were trying to pull.

"Please?" Robert asked imploringly.

My phone rang, and Dr Cuddy's name flashed across the screen. I knew I shouldn't do what they said. But I also knew that I couldn't say 'no' to Robert. I would probably have done anything when he looked at me like that. I ought not to pick up, I told myself.

Instead, I kept it on speakerphone, put on an accent, and said "Hello".

Dr Cuddy was professional. She only used Eric's last name and explained his actions briefly. She wasn't exactly harsh either, I noticed. She told _Foreman's mother_ that he was an excellent student and that such pranks could ruin what was quite possibly a bright future. I spoke as little as I could, for it was hard to keep up the accent. She said that it wasn't much to worry about, but something to 'nip in the bud'. I told her that I would speak to _my son_ about it, and she hung up.

The three of us cracked up as soon as the call ended. I still couldn't believe that I had done that!  
I don't know how long we laughed, or why I did something so spontaneous. All I knew was that a bond had formed between us.

And just like that, Eric, Robert and I became friends.

 **Thank you for reading! Pease leave a review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews! I'm so sorry I took so long to update.**

We had a group study session each day, and as days turned into weeks, I got quite used to it. It had become the most interesting session of the day, until, one Friday morning, we excused ourselves from it. The day had been ordinary enough until Dr Cuddy reminded us about the forthcoming tests. That wasn't an issue, but the portions for the first test definitely were. We would be tested on what we had selected as our second language, she said, causing us to wonder what our second languages were. "French," she said looking at our bemused faces. "And German for you," she said looking at Dan.  
I hadn't read French for over four months, and I wondered whether I would remember anything at all.  
That meant I had four months' worth French reading piled up for the weekend, I realized suddenly. But I wasn't the only one, I guessed, judging by the others' faces. Dan was the only one who looked unperturbed.  
"I'll tell House that you'll be busy," she said, and departed.

It felt as though the day lasted forever. The afternoon stretched on and on, and I had reached a stage when I felt as though I didn't care anymore. I needed a change from it, I decided. I looked around the room. Katherine sat at the windowsill, dreamily looking out. The book lay forgotten on her lap. Eric was furiously scribbling in a notebook but what he was writing didn't look like French. Emily was revising from her notes and Robert was reading a French novel we had been assigned. It looked demanding, so I had put off reading it. Dan would probably find it easy, I thought. That morning, when Emily had asked him why he was so unruffled by the test, he replied that he'd mastered French as a child, which was why he chose German. I decided to ask him to clear my doubts. I stood up, and Robert looked up as though waiting for an excuse to be distracted. "How's the book?" I asked. " _C'est fantastique_ ," he replied sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at him and made my way out of the room.

Dan was in his room, or rather, study space. He wasn't studying, however. He was watching something with his headphones on and didn't even hear me enter. He realized that someone was in his room and began, "I was just about to start-"and then stopped when he saw that it was me. "I thought it was Cuddy," he said, and I smiled, amused.

He explained topics I had doubts in, and I stepped out an hour later, my head spinning with rules of _verb_ _conjugation_.

On my way back, I passed House and Cuddy. It looked as though they were arguing. Cuddy was yelling at him but he continued limping forward, unconcerned.

By the time I reached the others, the mood of the group had changed. All of them were studying seriously now, quite possibly having discerned how much they had to do in such a short while. I joined them, and got started on the novel. It was a crime mystery, and more fun than I expected.

The sun had set long before I finished the book, and by the time I did, I was desperately longing for a change. I didn't have a choice, I reminded myself, and continued. I didn't get far with it, though, for a short while later, Eric and Emily decided that it was time for a break and walked out hand in hand. Katherine went in search of Dan, and I was left with Robert. We looked at each other, and Robert closed his books. "Let's leave too", he said, and I readily agreed. We wandered around the corridors aimlessly, and just as I was about to suggest going back, we ran into House.

"Return this to the library and tell her to stop paging me," he said, handing us a huge book with 'PPTH Official Records' on it. "Won't you have to sign the library register?" I asked but House didn't reply. Instead he walked away, surprisingly fast for a cripple.

We went to the library and returned the book to an unsurprisingly annoyed librarian who muttered about _people who didn't follow hospital protocol_. I was about to leave but Robert stopped me. "Let's look around."  
"We have to go back and study," I said, but he pulled me along anyways.  
Once inside, I forgot completely about studying. The walls were filled with thick, musty books. Admittedly, they were all medical books, but I still felt attracted. Further inside, the shelves were filled with CD's on different topics.

"Let's watch one of these and relax," said Robert with a smirk. I wasn't sure if he was serious, but I played along. "This one looks interesting," I said, picking up a CD about _The different types of Autism and their characteristics_. "That's it, then," he said and borrowed it from the library. I laughed at his absurd idea, but he didn't respond. "So you're serious?" I asked as we walked out.

I wasn't paying attention to where we were going and noticed only when we walked into a small theatre-sort of room. "Yeah," he replied with the same cute smirk. In that case, let's get popcorn for our movie, I said.

Ten minutes later, we both were seated next to each other with buttered popcorn from the cafeteria. The CD was on, but I don't think either of us paid much attention to it.

"We ought to go back," I said remembering suddenly.  
"You ought to loosen up," he said. "Nerd."

I threw a single popcorn at him. He retaliated with a handful, and quite suddenly, it turned into a full-fledged food fight. I didn't remember having that much fun in ages.

We settled down, ate the remaining popcorn, and watched in silence. It was more interesting than we gave it credit for, but we both were tired. Neither of us realised that the other had fallen asleep.

I heard the sound of a door opening, and opened my eyes and looked around the room. The CD had long gotten over, and the room was littered with now-stale popcorn.

Robert was still asleep, his blond hair a little tousled. I couldn't help but notice that he looked good asleep.

I didn't have much time to ponder this, for the door opened and a very familiar face poked in through the door. I realised that the sound I had heard wasn't that of a door opening but that of a person using a cane.

"I've no doubt that you two are busy having fun together, but I need the room," said House louder than necessary.

Robert awoke by then, looking thoroughly confused. Wilson followed House in with a CD in his hand, and Robert shook himself awake.

"Clean the room after we're done," said House and threw our CD at me. I caught it, and Robert and I walked out as fast as we could without running.

Robert's ears were red with embarrassment, and I was sure mine were too. I sighed and looked at my phone. It was 4:20 am.

There was no point in going back to sleep, we decided, and made our way to the group study room to get an early start to the day.

It was blissfully empty, and as we made up for the time we had missed the previous night, I felt strangely peaceful. Doing things with Robert felt right, somehow, as though we belonged together. I blushed at the thought and looked up to see what he was doing. He was reading seriously, and inspired, I did too.

 **Thank you for reading! Please leave a review or suggestion; it means a lot!**


	4. Chapter 4

Time flew, and before I knew it Robert and I were on our way to Diagnostics Room 2, where we were to write the test. The next three hours passed in a blur, and then it was over. The six of us walked to the cafeteria. Emily and I started discussing the test, but Eric stopped us. "Please don't," he said. "It was bad enough writing it."

The queue was long, and the cafeteria crowded. "Why don't you two get us a table? We'll order for you," Dan said motioning to me and Robert.

Robert and I found a table and waited in silence. It was uncomfortable, and I wondered why. The silence hadn't been uncomfortable in the morning.

The four of them arrived, and Dan sat in between me and Robert. "Here's your coffee," he said, setting a cup in front of Robert. "And your decaf," he said, setting the other one in front of me. I smiled. He'd noticed that I drank only decaf.

I sipped, and wondered for a second why it tasted sweeter than usual.

Emily and the boys excitedly discussed a movie which was to be released the next week while Katherine and I remained silent. The conversation continued, and my mind drifted off to other topics.

Dan excused himself, but I wasn't paying attention. I didn't in the slightest see what was coming next.

"So, Al, aren't you into movies?" Eric asked grinning broadly. "I am, just not into the action packed ones," I replied wondering what was funny.

I realized that Emily was staring at me wide eyed, looking extremely shocked.

"What? It's not wrong to dislike action movies," I said, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. "No, behind you," Emily choked out, and I turned, suddenly scared.

Dan was standing behind me, and for a split second, I didn't understand. And then I saw a pair of scissors and a mass of brown hair on the floor behind my chair.

I whipped around again, waiting for my hair to swish to the front. It didn't. Dan had cut my well below shoulder-length hair till my shoulders.

I couldn't think. I couldn't even breathe. I started yelling through the tears that threatened to choke me.

"Are you crazy? What the hell? What…."

"It was just a dare, chill," Dan replied easily.

"Just a dare? Chill?"

I felt as though the world had ended. All I wanted to do was head back to my room and cry forever. I shoved past him blindly, not registering the walk from the cafeteria to my room.

Cuddy appeared from somewhere. "Are you okay?" she asked but I could barely hear her. I needed to reach my room before I broke down completely.

I thrusted the door open and walked in rather shakily. Cuddy followed me in looking extremely concerned. "What happened?" she asked. I started crying again, unable to breathe. She put her arm around my shoulder and led me to the couch.

"He-he-cut my-my hair," I said, crying even harder.

"Calm down. It's okay. You're okay," she comforted and pushed a bottle of water into my hand. "Here. Drink this. Deep breaths."

I took a sip and tried to calm down. I was hyperventilating by then, and I wanted nothing more than to wake up and find that it was all a dream.

"He did it for a dare," I said, unable to believe it. " _A dare!"_

I stood up suddenly, anger reignited. "I have to talk to him. And rip him apart."

"No," she said firmly but gently, pulling me back to the couch. "I'm not letting you go anywhere like this."

"You can't do that," I said, but I wasn't struggling. She could and I knew it. Some part of me wanted her to stop me; to talk some sense into me.

The sobs resumed, and she put her arm back around me. "I'm sorry," she said softly, stroking my hair. I wondered how she could be motherly and unrelenting at the same time.

I continued to take small sips of water. "It's not the end of the world. Nothing's changed," she said softly.

She sat with me patiently till I stopped crying. As soon as I did, I felt ashamed of my outburst. How childish, I thought.

"I've never cared so much about my looks. I don't know why I freaked out-" I began but Cuddy stopped me.

"There's no need to explain. It was the shock of it. If someone cut off my hair, I'd freak out too."

I smiled at her, glad that she understood.

"Are you sure you'll be okay here alone?" she asked. I nodded. 'Besides, I've to get back to class. House will probably be annoyed with me."

'I'm sure he won't mind if you take a break. I'll tell him," she said, and stood up. I did too, and she gave me a hug. I was slightly surprised, but I hugged her back. "Thanks," I whispered into her ear. "For everything."

"You're welcome," she said, and moved towards the door. I immediately missed the warmth of her arms around me.

She stopped before she reached the door, and turned back. "Who was it?" she asked her voice professional again. "Who cut you hair?"

"Um… It doesn't matter," I replied. I wasn't about to tell on a classmate even if he cut off my hair. She gave me knowing look. "You don't have to protect him, you know. Besides, I'll find out anyways."

And with that, the Dean of Medicine stepped out of the room.

I washed my face, trying to erase the evidence that I had cried, but it wouldn't go away. I even tried applying make-up, but that looked worse, so I ended up washing my face again.

"Ooh! What did you do?" House asked in mock shock as soon as I entered.

I didn't reply. Instead, I took my place next to Robert, who looked worried.

As soon as House tuned away, I turned to Robert. "Did you know?" I asked managing to sound as though it didn't matter to me. He looked guilty as hell, but from that expression I knew that whatever he'd known, that hadn't been what he had expected. "I'm so sorry. In the morning they told me that they were playing a prank on you. They said it was a small, harmless prank; never mentioned anything about cutting your hair off. I was uncomfortable about it but they convinced me," he finished anxiously, studying my face for a sign of what I was feeling. When I didn't reply, he seemed more tormented, but our conversation ended rather abruptly, for House told us that we could _work out issues in the corridor_ if we wanted to.

I looked at Dan. I couldn't see from his eyes whether he felt guilty or not, but he wasn't fidgeting as usual. I wondered if Cuddy had been right when she told me that I didn't have to protect him. I wondered whether she could truly find out who had done it-

A cane rapping the desk in front of me brought me back to the room. "You," said House pointing his cane at me, "need to work out your issues. Either that or get fired."

"He cut off my hair!" I said, stung.

"As long as he didn't cut off your head, you can still diagnose," House said emotionlessly before he went back to talking about the diagnosis.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a day since I spoke to him and I missed him already. I knew it wasn't his fault but in private, I blamed him more than anybody else. He should have told me. He was my _friend_.

Was he _just_ a friend?

I told myself that he wasn't worth it, and that it was his fault that my hair was an uneven mess, but my thoughts kept drifting back to his apology.

I missed him more than ever.

I pulled out my phone and looked at the text he had sent me.

"Meet me tonight at 10:00. Please."

I knew he meant in the roof terrace, and I wanted to let go, smile at him, and be his.

There I was again. Was I _his_?

I looked at my watch. It was 10:01. On an impulse, I stuffed my phone in my purse and made my way to the terrace. He wasn't there. Disappointed, I turned to make my way back-

"I thought you wouldn't come."

I jumped, startled.

He almost merged with the shadows, his warm black jacket far too big for him. I remembered that he'd had a cold.

I ran to him; all my anger gone, and hugged him.

When we pulled apart, he looked positively shocked.

"Its fine," I murmured and took his hand.

Overhead, thunder rumbled. It was going to pour.

"This isn't fair. We're so tired and stressed out. Let's go away; just for tonight," I said, a hopeful expression on my face.

"He looked at me strangely. "I'm really glad you're not mad at me anymore, but are you okay?"

I laughed. "I'm okay. But I won't be if you say no."

It began to rain hard.

He looked at me for a split-second before agreeing. It was all too easy. We slipped out of the gates. Both of us were drenched, but I didn't care, and I don't think he did either.

Once outside, the rush of adrenaline had gone and I had begun to realize how stupid I had been.

I mentioned this to Robert. "I'm glad we did it," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. I've never seen you go wild."

Our stroll had taken us to the public park near Princeton Plainsboro, and we sat on the cold and wet swings.

The park was blissfully empty.

It didn't feel real anymore.

I don't remember getting up, or walking towards him.

I remember the look on his face.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and in that moment, I knew I was _his_.

Our lips met, and I felt elated, excited, uncontrollable, and special.

We paused, and I smiled at him.

His arm, which was wrapped around my shoulder, shuddered, and I turned. Too late, I realized he was shivering. His forehead was unnaturally warm in the bitter cold.

* * *

We had returned to the hospital several hours ago, and dawn was fast approaching. I tossed and turned around, unable to fall asleep. My guilt was as heavy as the rain had been; perhaps more.

I was the one who had forced him to go. It was my fault. My vision blurred with tears of guilt, worry and fear. 'What was I thinking?'

I had tried to convince him to wake a doctor, but he was stubborn. Perhaps I shouldn't have listened to him, but I thought I'd done enough damage.

Deciding that I couldn't lie in bed any longer, I got up and dressed silently. I didn't turn on the lights for fear of being seen.

I walked to House's empty office. I had no idea where the others slept. I don't know what I expected but what I saw shocked me.

Robert was kneeling over House's desk, looking extremely pale. A small bottle was open next to him.

"Vicodin?" I gasped, unable to believe that he'd do something like that.

He tried to stand up, but a wave of nausea pulled him down. He moaned, making no further attempt to move.

"It hurts."

It was barely more than a whisper, and it took all my self-control to remain calm.

"Where?"

"Everywhere," he choked out before he collapsed.

* * *

Dr Cuddy was well-dressed even at that time of the night. She somehow understood from my panicked blather that Robert was sick, and sent the paramedics to help him. We followed, and as I thought of the incident later, I marvelled at how clam and composed she remained while assessing his situation. At that moment, however, I couldn't think straight. Once he was stabilized and I regained my composure, I knew it was time for an explanation.

She listened with an impassive face as I explained.

"I'm so sorry, it was a stupid thing to do; it's entirely my fault," I finished, close to tears.

Once I was done, she remained silent, which I found very unnerving.

"I'm sorry" I repeated, to which she replied, "You're shaking."

I looked down to my hands which were, indeed, shaking.

She felt my temperature, and I heard her call the code again as everything around me went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi everyone! I'm still alive after all! :3 Sorry, I know it has been ages, but you should know, reviews motivate me to write. So keep them coming!**

 **Disclaimer: The medicine part of the story is rubbish. I made it up.**

When I woke up, I didn't want to open my eyes. There was too much to ponder over, and I needed time to question my sense of reality. Unsurprisingly, my first thought was that of Robert taking Vicodin. Had I imagined everything? Was it a dream quickly turned into a nightmare?

No such luck. I peeked from the edge of the covers to be greeted by the pale pink ceiling of the hospital room. I opened my eyes wide to check for people in the room. I was alone. Quickly throwing off the covers, I stood up and checked the room for my clothes. I felt fine, and yet I was in a hospital gown. Not successful in my endeavour to find my clothes, I sat back on the bed to think about my next move. My mind wandered to Cuddy and the disapproval that she was bound to display at the stupidity of my actions. Reality crashed over me in waves, and I felt guiltier than ever. How was Robert doing? Was he going to be alright? I needed to talk to an adult, a mature, sensible person who wouldn't scold me but would help me sort out my messed-up life. I stood up too quickly, and nausea threatened to overtake me. I clearly wasn't at my best. Ignoring the feeling, I walked to the Oncology department, hoping Wilson would be in his office.

My knock sounded rather desperate, and his "come-in" rather surprised. Without waiting for further invitation, I sank into one of the chairs in his office and told him everything I remembered. He was a good listener. He didn't interrupt me, and I took advantage of the silence to rant to my heart's content.

"So it's my fault that Robert is sick and Cuddy is going to kill me," I finished, burying my face in my hands.

Although I had found it extremely strange that my only friend in the hospital (before Dan and the others, of course) had a son my age, I got over my initial shock. More accurately, circumstances caused me to. It didn't, however, feel weird to talk to James, despite not having such a conversation in months.

"So let me get this straight. You saw Robert taking Vicodin?" James asked in disbelief. I sighed and looked up at him. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Of course he'll be alright. Even if it's a special case, which is extremely unlikely, you have House. Your major concern should be Cuddy's reaction."

"I know. She's probably going to ground me forever. Not that we get to go out enough anyways," I said, seeming petulant even to myself. "I don't want to meet her. Not till I know that Robert is fine. Or after that, actually. So.. do you mind if I stay here a while?"

"So you want to hide here till Cuddy finds you and force me to take the explosion. You sound just like House."

"You know she is going to overreact. I just.." I trailed off pathetically, and looked back at him in the hope of some sympathy.

"Listen, Al, I understand that all this is stressful," he said, speaking more carefully. "But avoiding the problem isn't going to make it go away. So you're going to speak to Cuddy, and you're going to do it now."

"What time is it?" I asked, choosing to ignore his previous statement.

"Ten to six. But that's beside the point. If Cuddy finds out you were here she'll consider me your partner in crime." I almost smiled. "Go talk to her," he said, giving me a serious look. My smile faded.

"It's evening already?" He shot me an exasperated expression at the attempt to change the subject. "If you don't go I'll tell her that you tried to hide here."

I scrambled up. "Fine. But you're on my side." "I'll do my best," he said, sounding resigned as I shut the door and walked to Cuddy's office.

* * *

She noticed me before I knocked. Perhaps it was weird that I just stood there without knocking (it was a glass door after all) but I needed a moment to collect myself. I realised that she was waiting for me to enter, and opened the door.

"How are you feeling?"

Not quite the reaction I had expected. "I'm okay. I'm slightly nauseous, but not much apart from that." She took out her prescription pad and wrote something on it.

"How is Robert?" I asked in a small voice. She looked back up. "He's recovering. He had lung complications. He'll be back to normal in a week."

"Was it because of what we did?" I asked, my voice even smaller than before.

"What did you do?" she asked, looking at me intently. She seemed curious rather than angry.

"Uh.. I was tired and bored and I really wanted a change. So I convinced him to come with me." I almost whispered.

"And?" she asked, still looking at me intently. "We went to the park and sat on those benches and… came back soon after" I said, my face turning slightly pink.

She said nothing. I waited for about ten seconds before speaking again.

" So for how long am I grounded?"

She raised her eyebrows at my brazenness, which was what I perceived it to be.

"I'm not grounding you. However, I must impress upon you the seriousness of what you did. It's dangerous to roam the streets in the middle of the night, and you're well aware of that." She paused. "The rain didn't help either," she added as an afterthought. "What surprises me is your instinct to run away when overworked. Talking to me was an option. I could have arranged something else. That's what I'm here for."

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again," I said, meaning every word of it.

She nodded her head in acknowledgement. "While I understand that this is stressful, so is the life of a doctor. Part of the job is to lean to deal with it in positive ways. So there will be consequences."

I knew this was coming. I waited.

"I'm confiscating your cell-phone for a week. You will apologise to House for endangering his student. And to Chase, though I don't suppose I need to tell you to do that." Her eyes smiled at the last part, and although her lips didn't, I knew I was forgiven.

"No, you don't," I agreed, the corners of my mouth turning up into a small smile. "Can I go see him?" "You can, but you need to rest after that. I'm nearly done with these; I'll come with you. Why don't you go and change into your clothes while I finish these?"

As we walked through the corridors, heads tuned back to work and gossip turned into medical conversations. Cuddy showed no sign that she was aware of the change, yet how could she not be? I didn't notice we were going to the hospital pharmacy until we reached there. "Emetrol for the nausea", she said, handing me a small strip.

* * *

When we opened the door and walked in, his eyes remained shut. I was sure that he was pretending to be asleep. When he woke up, he was going to in more trouble than I had been, after all. I sat on a nearby chair and waited. He would talk to me when we were alone. As I expected, Cuddy left after a few minutes.

"Robert?" I called out softly. His eyes jerked open immediately. "Geez. I thought it was Cuddy."

"You look terrible," I offered with a smile. "Thanks!" he exclaimed, pretending to be offended. "No, seriously. How mad is she?" he asked, sitting up. "She let me off pretty easily. She confiscated my phone for a week and she's making me apologise to House." I shrugged. "A week?" he exclaimed, sinking back into his pillows. "And to you," I continued. "What?" he asked, seeming confused.

"It was my fault" I began but Robert cut across. "Cameron."

"Don't call me that. I prefer Al"

"So stop apologising over stupid stuff! It was as much my fault as yours! And you didn't ask me to take the Vicodin, I did that by myself."

"Why?" I didn't mean to interrogate him, but I needed to know.

"It hurt. A lot."

"Wimp," I teased, moving over to sit next to him. I knew that he wasn't one but I needed to keep the conversation light. Now wasn't the time for that talk.

"Meanie" he responded.

"Wimp."

"Meanie."

I loved it that I could act like a five year old around him. We sat comfortably in silence, and I felt all the walls that I had built around myself over the previous incident fall away.

House poked his head in. "Did the Prince finally kiss Sleeping Beauty awake? Or was it the other way round?" he asked. I just rolled my eyes. Robert, on the other hand, blushed slightly before averting his eyes.

House snarked back, but I didn't pay attention. Was Robert embarrassed by me? Did he regret it?

"I have to go."

"Already?"

I didn't hear him as I shut the door and made my way back to my own room. I had a lot to think about.


End file.
